Starting residency · OK
Starting residency in Oklahoma
Oklahoma requires residents to hold a training license from the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision: the Special training license. Oklahoma has a graduated income tax (top rate 4.5% above $7,200 for 2026).
Training license
- Status
- Training license required
- Called
- Special training license
- Fee
- $250; annual reregistration $150 (board rule effective September 1, 2026, which describes these as maximum amounts)
- Renewal
- Annual reregistration
Who applies: Resident, through the board's online portal; the appointing hospital or medical school must confirm each resident holds an Oklahoma license when training begins.
Board rules require MD interns to hold a special training license, and hospitals that let a resident train without one risk losing board approval. Residents who have finished 12 months of training (24 months for IMGs) are expected to move to a full license; keeping a special training license after PGY-1 is an exception for special circumstances, though IMGs may renew it until they meet the full-license requirement. Applicants need USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK passed. The board's FAQ gives 6 to 8 weeks of processing for license applications in general. The rules read do not address moonlighting.
Full license: MD: after 12 months of progressive training in the same specialty; 24 months for IMGs. DO: after 1 completed year of postgraduate training. A full license matters if you plan to moonlight.
Source: Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision
State income tax
Graduated income tax: top rate 4.5% above $7,200 for 2026.
Source: taxfoundation.org
Match Day to your first loan payment
Assumes you enroll in RAP or IBR when the grace period ends, recertify once a year, and file each tax return by April. Your servicer's dates govern.
Mid-March
Match Day
You learn where you'll train. Your program sends its residency (GME) agreement and onboarding steps.
March–April
Oklahoma training license
Apply for your Oklahoma training license as soon as your program sends instructions. Applications often need school records and background checks that take weeks.
April–June
Credentialing and onboarding
Hospital credentialing, health screening, payroll and benefits forms, and a DEA registration if your program requires one.
Late June–July 1
Move and start
Intern orientation usually starts in the last week of June. When the first paycheck arrives depends on the hospital's payroll schedule, so budget for a few weeks of moving costs without one.
About 6 months after graduation
Federal loan grace period ends
Payments start 6 months after you leave school. Choose a plan before then, or request residency forbearance, during which interest accrues and months don't count toward PSLF.
First year of payments
Payments use last year's income
RAP and IBR use the adjusted gross income on your most recent tax return, which for most new residents is a student year. Payments rise after you recertify with a resident's income.
DO residents are licensed by the separate State Board of Osteopathic Examiners: a Resident Training license ($120) is required to begin PGY-1, and an advanced resident license, obtained through the standard license application, is required before PGY-2. Moonlighting on the advanced license needs a signed letter from the program's medical director naming each location.
Related
- Compare RAP, IBR and Tiered Standard on a resident's income
- Oklahoma physician non-compete law, for when you sign your first attending contract
- All states
General information, checked on the date above. Board requirements and fees change; confirm with the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervisionand your program before you apply.